What topics are covered in a Permaculture Design Course? Content overview of a 17-day PDC
What topics are covered in a Permaculture Design Course?
A Content overview of a 17-day PDC in Thailand at Gaia Ashram in April 2019
In this post, I will give you an idea of what a diverse range of topics we have been able to cover during our 2019 Permaculture Design Course (PDC) organized by flowful at Gaia Ashram in the Northeast of Thailand. You will learn about the different topics but also how they work together to finally create one big picture. You will also learn about the PDC curriculum and what topics every Permaculture Design Course has to cover.
Just to be transparent, Karla and I were part of the facilitator team, however, this review is backed on the sharing and feedback of the participants as well as the PDC facilitator team.
If you want to experience and learn more about gardening and permaculture, you might want to join our next 17-day PDC starting in November 2020. Get all the information right here! For the time in between, we highly recommend our Free Online Permaculture & Resilience Course. Start today, no registration needed.
Get yourself registered and be part of the new Permaculture Design Certificate Course in 2020 in Thailand!
Author: Lars Blume
Introduction to Permaculture Design Course
A Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is an internationally known and accepted 72-hour theory course resulting in a Permaculture Design Certificate. It provides an introduction to permaculture design according to the founder of the movement Bill Mollison. The PDC serves as a foundation for further permaculture work and studies. The PDC material was originally developed by Bill Mollison, co-founder of permaculture, to teach the principles and foundations of sustainable design. And if you want to have a brief introduction about permaculture we recently published an article on “What is Permaculture?” so check it out.
The first Permaculture Design Course was given by Bill Mollison already in 1981 as a 140-hour lecture series. Mollison was inspired by Vietnamese Monks and the concept of “barefoot trainers”. Over time, the lecture series has been reduced to 72 hours. However, the requirements remain nearly the same. All PDC courses must follow the same format to assure
Invented in 1981 and still up to date
Even though the foundation of a PDC has been developed in 1981, the content, as well as the tools and techniques, are still up to date. By building each Permaculture Design Course on the same foundation it is ensured that participants understand the underlining knowledge first. From there, it is up to the experience and taste of the facilitators to make each PDC special and unique and well-fitting to the needs and special requirements of the group. We show you how we’ve covered the major topics and where we added practical exercises or extended the curriculum to cover further trends in permaculture.
The course included a broad range of topics applicable to life anywhere on this planet; we tailored the topics fitting to the needs of the participants as well as the location at hand. We covered every major topic in Bill Mollison's ‘Permaculture: a Designers Manual’ in the classroom but also on land and using real-life examples from the participants.
Who was part of the Permaculture Design Course in Thailand?
Before going into the topics, let’s have a look at our hands-on achievements during the Gaia Ashram PDC in April 2019
Design I: We have been able to design and implement two different parts of Gaia Ashram. While giving the group the experience to design a small project and implement it afterwards we’ve shown some of the hardships between designing on paper and transforming it into reality on the ground. We were asking the participants to design it and later during the course to implement it to fully understand the importance of these two steps. Group 1 was asked to design the kitchen area in a more social and welcoming manner. Group 2 was supposed to channel the human impact in the area around the flushing toilet and give most of the land back to nature in a regenerative way.
Natural building: We finished two smaller projects around one building sit using different natural building techniques. Of course we jumped into the mud pit and enjoyed our time playing with dirt, sand, and water while creating magic mudbricks.
Gardening: We have been able to create new garden beds using different techniques, and learned how to propagate and transplant trees and plants.
Soil: We experienced two different ways of composting. We embraced that healthy soil is the key to each and every permaculture project.
Design II: We designed 4 real-life permaculture design examples based on the projects of our participants. We made a design for a rooftop garden covering urban permaculture and more classic land-based designs.
Community building: Finally we created a community together! We’ve learned how it feels to be part of one group where everyone is taken care of and where people support each other to leave no one behind.
PDC Content Overview
Permaculture Introduction Ethics &Principles
During the first day of our Permaculture Design Course at Gaia Ashram in Thailand, we worked a lot on the social component including group dynamics. We gave an introduction to permaculture, which is also available in one of our blog post. And we introduced the philosophies and three ethics underlying permaculture (Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share) and how to apply them in day to day life.
The second day of our PDC 2019 was dedicated to permaculture principles. The first interaction with the principles was a walk on the land. We went outside and looked for real-life examples of applied permaculture principles at Gaia Ashram and spent some time in groups discussing Holmgren’s 12 permaculture principles in detail.
Deep Ecology & Thai Culture through the permaculture lens
“Diversity plus Knowledge is equal Abundance
”
Bill and David, and the idea of permaculture where formed from the environmental movement in the 1960s around Rachel Carson's book “Silent Spring” (1962), James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis (1960) and Arne Naess’ “Deep ecology” 1972/73. In order to frame the permaculture movement, we gave an introduction into deep ecology. We also explored the connection between ancient knowledge and Permaculture while exploring Thai culture (building, farming, storage) through a permaculture lens. We went on a plant walk to get a better understanding of Thailand's native plants and how to make use of the diversity following the equation: Diversity + Knowledge = Abundance
Soil Basics &
Fertility Management
On day 3 of our Permaculture Course, we talked about the properties of soil. We learned how the soil food web works and how it is constantly creating healthy new soil in the first place but at the same time helps to prevent erosion, creates a healthy ecosystem and regenerates soil in degraded areas. To showcase positive human intervention for enriching soil, we started a hot compost, harvested some indigenous microorganisms, and learned about Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) as well as compost tea.
In order to experience a totally different perspective on soil, we’ve spent the rest of the day doing some natural building.
Natural Building
We worked on a natural building project, a mudbrick house at Gaia Ashram. What a rewarding work in the mud, learning about earth-bags, mudbricks, and plastering and all of that with so much joy and fun. It basically showed a totally different component of soil compared to the morning.
On day 4 of the Permaculture Design Course, we framed the experimental knowledge we gained the day before with a natural building theory session. After working in the mud the day before, we focused on the theory of natural building and learned how to design climate-appropriate structures and how to build beautiful, spiritually uplifting homes using locally sourced and natural materials.
Designing Landscapes
On the same day, we also dived into the design aspects of permaculture, explained different methods of design and how to apply permaculture design tools and methodology. In the afternoon, we have been ready to touch the design aspect of permaculture in a practical way for the very first time. The participants placed different elements on a prepared and defined base map to learn to think about the „why“ while placing different elements.
Water Management, Capture, Efficient Use & Earthworks basics
Day 5 of our Permaculture Course was dedicated to water. We learned a lot about the importance of water management, catchment, conservation, and how to reuse water consumption. During this session, we also covered earthworks as the main topic to shape the land to reap the rewards of Mother Earth and create positive effects on ecological systems.
In between, we also had a great time opening fresh coconuts together, preparing the pasta for the pasta-party and had a beautiful bonfire together.
Design Process &
Patterns in nature
On day 6, we had another session on design to really ensure that by the end of the first week all participants have a clear understanding of how important design in the permaculture world actually is. We went through the design process another time, deepended our knowledge about zoning, sectors, and the energy that flows on a land, showcasing some finalized designs to get an understanding of how a final permaculture design can look like. To link permaculture design back to nature, we focused on patterns. Thus, we closed the first week with patterns in nature, reading the landscape, and how to use that in a holistic design.
Gardening Techniques in Permaculture
After a nice weekend, we all started fresh and with new energy into the second week of our Permaculture Design Course. On day 8, we shared about home gardening and how to create high yielding, low input annual gardens for food sovereignty focusing on zone 1. Afterwards, we invited the participants to actually do gardening. We prepared garden beds, did mulching and planted some plants. Again, we have been able to touch the 3 different ways of remembering content:
“Head, heart & hand”
Food Forest Establishment & Management
At day 9 of the Permaculture Design Course, we looked into forest systems starting with trees, forests, and forest gardening and learned how to mimic natural forest systems to create an abundance of food, fiber, and fodder. We learned ways to accelerate succession in an evolving landscape and how to maximize impact with minimal effort. Furthermore, we looked at the 7 layers in a food forest and went on a forest walk to learn directly from the source.
Plant Propagation and the importance of seed saving
Day 10 of our Permaculture Design Course was about plant propagation. We learned the different ways of seed saving and the basic techniques and different ways to propagate plants. We actually propagated some of the easy-going plants at Gaia Ashram. As the course was happening during dry season in Thailand, we went for plants we have in abundance like banana, cassava, lemongrass, and citronella. And looking back, the success rate was not too bad in the end.
Food preservation and natural products
Obtaining a yield in the garden or your farm is the first step. However, managing to eat and process your food is the second and a very important one, too. For us, the connection between kitchen and garden is essential to not waste food and prolong the growing season on your table by preserving the abundance. We looked into fermentation, Kombucha-making, and many other ways of preserving food. As the garden provides so much more than food, we also shared easy to make natural product recipes that help to save our environment and money.
Large systems & Sustainable Animal Systems
The last days before giving time for the final design practice were spent on large systems (zone 3,4,5) and animals in permaculture.
During these days we also touched the technical component of permaculture with ecological house design and appropriate technologies. We finished the input session talking about urban permaculture, a part of permaculture that is getting more and more important. It is focusing on how permaculture can be implemented in human settlements. In summary, we basically highlighted the following topics throughout the last days:
Climatic factors and strategies for all major climates and how to work with them
Appropriate technologies: the importance of using small and slow solutions fitting to your local resources and needs
Urban permaculture strategies and approaches
Alternative systems; bioregional organization, community development, and alternative economic systems
Community living and alternative lifestyles that harmonize people and the planet
Get to know 2019 facilitator team of the 17-days Permaculture Design Certificate Course at Gaia Ashram in Thailand! For 2020 PDC it will be different but together with Ben, Karla and Lars will be the main facilitators.
Want to learn more?
Join our upcoming Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course in Thailand at Gaia Ashram. It will start on March 25 and continues till April 10. You can find more information here or just drop us a message; we’re happy to hear from you.
If you want to experience a design process join one of our workshops or invite us to your property and become the host for the next workshop. Just drop us an mail for further information. Or just subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Furthermore, you can join Gaia Ashram a community-based education center as a volunteer and learn more about gardening, spirituality and nature connection, For further information check www.gaiaschoolasia.com.
Join the Permaculture Design Course 2020 in Thailand at Gaia Ashram